Stacy Valentino
"You think this is a 'shit hits the fan' situation? What gave you that impression? The fact that we're surrounded on all sides by Raptors that want to shoot us into gory little chunks? Or that your dumb-ass bird friend decided to fly the coop and leave us to die? You think we're in deep shit, I think it's Wednesday." - Chief Petty Officer Stacy Valentino, SPECTRE Candidacy Trial, Taetrus, 2171 Stacy Michelle Valentino is a Systems Alliance Military Police Officer serving in the Systems Alliance Navy, as well as on permanent TDY for the Systems Alliance Marshal Services, serving as a Marshal Deputy in the Citadel Marshal Office as Deputy Chief. A member of the failed Operation: Repensium deployment to win back Shanxi back in the First Contact War, Valentino is a double-Navy Cross awardee and one-time SPECTRE Candidate. Trained as a Military Police Officer and Master-at-Arms, Valentino is a hard-bitten Navy Non-Com who has seen it, survived it, and scraped it off the bottom of her boot. Stacy is a part of the Peacemaker Series. Biography Stacy Michelle Valentino was born in the Republic of Texas in the United North American States after the horrors of the Resource Wars. As a child, she grew up with the knowledge that Earth was failing and that mankind could likely starve to death in the next 50 years. Born to Lisa Valentino, a signer in a pop band when she was younger, she grew up in a farming bloc near El Paso Juarez. Her earliest memories were of helping planting and plucking crops as governments desperately tried to feed the billions of mouths after the near-collapse of Earth's ecosphere in the early-2130's. She spent her childhood tending the gardens and fields with her mother. In 2148, with the discovery of the Mars Archives and advent of Mass Effect technology, millions of humans were sent to space as colonists on a lottery system, or signed up under mega-corporation contracts to grow food out in the black to give Earth reprieve from the eleven billion souls living on it. Never haven been selected or contracted, Stacy lived out the rest of her childhood near the dying banks of the Rio Grande, growing potatoes and soy. All that changed upon the news of a violent First Contact. Operation: Repensium In September of 2157, news came to the inhabitants of Earth that they truly weren't alone in the galaxy... and that they were under attack. Stacy, having just turned seventeen and having lost her mother earlier that year to pulmonary edema, was one of the first of hundreds of thousands to enlist in what was later called the First Contact War. Attending a four-week accelerated Boot Camp and a two-week training program to get recruits up-to-snuff, Seaman Apprentice Stacy Valentino was loaded onto a starship with hundreds of thousands of others to fight in the FCW on the colony of Shanxi in the defense of mankind. The plan was simple; to hotdrop hundreds of thousands of Marines and Naval personnel onto Shanxi and drown the invaders, called 'Raptors', in their own blood, courtesy of bullets. The Operation was called Repensium; Latin for Revenge. It was a massacre. No information was known of the apparent martial race that had defeated the colonial defenses of Shanxi and had occupied the planet to ferret out defenders and survivors. Valentino was too jazzed up at the thought of shooting up some aliens, bolstered by cheap old sci-fi vids and the general mood of vengeance. When the military loaded onto a dropship to land upon Shanxi, none of them were prepared to deal with what they were about to face. The Turians. Stacy, along with the other twenty-four members of her dropship, exited the craft under wilting suppressive fire as thousands of Marines and Sailors were dropped onto New Beijing to liberate the colonial capital, only to find it heavily guarded and fortified by the Raptors. What was meant to be a smashing victory ended up being a week-long debacle of scattered troops and pockets of survivors trying to crawl out of the wreckage of the mess they found themselves in, communications down and no firm leadership in play. Stacy survived by camping in holes and chokepoints that Raptors were too large to fit in, shooting patrols in the back after they had passed, and leaving 'surprises' when they followed, improvised explosive mines and trip wires to ensure a getaway. She scavenged weapons, ammo, food, and water from the bodies of human beings, and slept in a dumpster when she was too exhausted to go on. Then she met an N7 by the name of Alec Ryder. Ryder, famously know for being Humanity's Pathfinder, found Stacy detonating walls to collapse on Turian patrols and hunter/killer teams, scoring twenty kills. Taking her on with his growing band of survivors, Ryder vowed to get them out of NeuBei alive if at all possible. A band of twenty survivors ducked and shot their way out of the occupied city to move towards another possible location that might have faired better; Neo Hong Kong, to the west. Three days later, they reached what was left of the city on foot only to find that it was a smoldering crater. Undeterred, Ryder suggested Neu Inchon to the north, where they happened upon a Raptor patrol that didn't immediately fire upon them. After some hesitation, Ryder and the lead Raptor approached each other warily, only for the Raptor to hand over to the N7 a little girl. After the exchange, the survivors continued north, where only four made it alive to Neu Inchon, plus a toddler. There they joined what remaining civil defenses, surviving Marines and Sailors, and civilians brave enough to fight back in a fortified building under the command of Deputy William 'Wild Bill' (last name), a Marshal Deputy who was responsible for pulling a good many civilians, Marines, and Sailors out of danger. The First Contact War lasted only three more days, ending with the arrival of the Asari Fleets to head off the incurring wrath of the Turian Hierarchy after having lost a Fleet to the surprise attack made by the Systems Alliance Navy in Operation: Repensium. For her efforts in Neu Beijing, as well as her ability to survive alone for a week while continuing to fight, Valentino was awarded the Navy Cross for her part in Operation: Repensium. When the option came to ETS out of the Navy a year later, Stacy's comment was "where else am I going to kill Spikes?" The Treaty Of Farixen When the Asari Fleets came to halt the Turians from further destroying Shanxi and possibly moving further into Human Space, humanity made two important discoveries; that there were more aliens than they realized, and there was an overall government that controlled most everything. The government in question, the Citadel, initially invited human representatives to the gigantic space station to formally accept the new species into the galactic community. Apologies were made for the actions of the Turians, offers of reparations and rebuilding were made... and a Treaty was placed before them. The Treaty, known as the Treaty of Farixen, wasn't a peace treaty, or even a co-existence treaty. Once the representatives were allowed to read through its literature (thanks to VI programs translating it), what they found horrified them. It demanded humanity to hand over all Prothean research and developments. It outlined what weapons were allowed or not... in which many of humanity's firearms and missile technology was on the banned list. It limited ship production. It limited colonization to certain borders, some colonies well beyond the 'new' limitation. Any government that humanity had would be directly under the Citadel's. Any representation that could be allowed upon the Citadel had to have the details of the Treaty met. And if humanity refused? The Turian Fleet was still hanging over Shanxi... along with the Asari one that had halted them initially. Unwilling to be destroyed, enslaved, made a client state of the Turians, or lose all their colonies and watch mass starvation take place, the Treaty was signed, and the newly-coined 'Earth Alliance Space' had exactly ten years to match every provision in the Treaty or face dire repercussions. The Organ-Splitter During this transition, the Systems Alliance Navy was almost mothballed. Both Fleets had been damaged, and the Alliance wasn't allowed to build a new one until the provisions of the Treaty were met. If Humanity couldn't build Dreadnaughts, then it would build everything else three times over... and some that were 'left' of the rules. Seaman Stacy Valentino, having gone to Advance Training School to become a Systems Alliance Military Police Officer, was a part of this transition. The Systems Alliance Navy began turning out small, fast, nimble ships known as Corvette-Classes, meant to patrol in numbers, operating in high volume to make up for the lack of larger ships and to buy humanity time to churn out larger vessels. When the Treaty defined what a 'Fleet' consisted of, humanity made 'sub-standard' Fleets, creating Fighter-bearing Crusiers that didn't match the size or weight of a Dreadnaught, but could saturate the battlefield with cheap fighter drones. Attached to one of these Carrier Fleets, Valentino learned that while humanity had to play fair... no one else was. Hierarchy Patrols would be found in established Earth Alliance Space, goading for attacks for the chance to shoot down 'monkeys'. Likewise, space piracy and smuggling were rife in many of the border territories, and the young MP found herself getting hotdrop to such locations, as well as illegally-ran vessels. She was quickly promoted to Petty Officer Third Class and later Petty Officer Second Class due to her contributions, successes, and command style. Valentino ended up earning the nickname 'the Organ-Splitter' during one of these missions. Official records state that the name was created to instill fear into pirates and slavers, while instilling espirit de corps amongst her fellow Sailors and Marines. Unofficially (allegations neither confirmed nor denied), the event that spurned the named involved a pirate, a knife, and said pirates' sexual organ. The Disaster Of Taetrus In mid-2171, then-Chief Petty Officer Stacy Valentino was selected by a member of the Office of Special Tactics as a possible candidate, to include a candidacy trial that involved an approved mission. The SPECTRE Agent in question, Saren Arterius, had knowingly picked a person that he knew would fail to further prove that humanity was ill-prepared and undeserving as a species. He had intentionally picked a person known to dislike Turians, who did not have any other skill sets save combat-related ones, and would likely buck authority due to animosity. The mission was one of Hierarchy interests; the first-born son of the Colonial Primarch of Taetrus had been kidnapped by Turian Separatists, held hostage-for-ransom. They further threatened to send a piece of space debris to a location of their choosing (undisclosed) if the ransom wasn't met, or if any Hierarchy forces were known to attempt to rescue the kidnapped person. Saren had officially picked a human he had reported to be a well-rounded field combatant that wasn't a Turian, and that the sight of a human causing problems wouldn't be easily connected with the mission. Arterius' plan was to use Valentino as a distraction so he could operate to rescue the Colonial Primarch's son, having the Separatists focus on the human being that would have zero connection to the Hierarchy or the Office of Special Tactics. The mission was approved. Valentino was told none of this. This mission had a further addition, one Nihlus Kryik, the protege of Saren Arterius. He knew of the official mission of using the human as bait, and personally disagreed with its methodology. Kryik knew of Arterius' hatred of humanity in general, and suspected something more sinister than merely dropping a human in the middle of a Turian colony. Knowing that the human he had never met would likely die within the hour of the onset, Kryik added himself to the mission, a trained member of the Blackwatch Unit and recently-inducted SPECTRE Agent himself. Arterius was livid at the thought of his protege including himself to 'aid' the human, but Kryik's addition had been approved of as well. The two SPECTREs and human Candidate were dropped onto Taetrus for a rescue mission where everything went wrong. Valentino had been told that she was a SPECTRE Candidate in which her observer, Arterius, would grade her abilities and performance on-mission while Kryik would be there for assistance and advice. Valentino wasn't pleased with working with two Turians or being dropped onto a Turian world, but she opted to be civil, as a human SPECTRE Candidate was a big deal. Within the first five minutes of the mission, Saren disappeared, moving through the jungles of Taetrus to leave Valentino and Kryik to fend for themselves. Arterius thought that Kryik would likely find an opportunity to abandon the human as he clandestinely sent a message to the Separatists of a possible extraction force approaching a Separatist stronghold where the hostage was believed to be held. This alert had dozens of Turian Separatists at the ready as Valentino and Kryik approached the compound in question. Reports are chaotic and confusing due to electronic warfare on the Separatists' part, the lack of high-grade electronics on Valentino's behalf (she was kitted with standard Systems Alliance equipment), and the ensuing battle that left Separatist Forces in that region crippled with dozens dead, more wounded, and the compound itself damaged beyond usage. The only reports are verbal ones, from SPECTRE Arterius, SPECTRE Kryik, and Candidate Valentino. The fiasco was a highly unusual one as two of the reports coincided well with one another, while the third told of a different story. Arterius's Report According to Agent Arterius, the initial clandestine drop onto Taetrus was a success as the three members were inserted into the jungles south of the Separatist compound, several klicks away. He then moved to complete his objective (the rescue mission) while the Candidate went to complete hers (the distraction). He reported that the human bungled her mission when Separatists Forces were alerted to her presence before arriving at the compound, and were ready for her. The ensuing fracas that occurred prevented him from entering the compound clandestinely, and the attack had the kidnapped Turian executed. He deemed Valentino a failure and a poor excuse of a warrior. It is noted that there is no mention of Agent Kryik in this report. Valentino's Report Chief Petty Officer Valentino was led to believe that herself, Agent Arterius, and Agent Kryik would be working together, correctly deceived. When Arterius disappeared, Valentino, enraged, continued on mission with Agent Kryik towards the Separatist Compound. There they found that the Separatists were mobilized and ready for an assault, and not in a standard guarded scenario. Valentino reports that both she and Kryik assaulted the compound through the use of a stolen vehicle, driving through the main gate, and began engaging Separatist Forces with a mixture of firearms, grenades, and situational exploitation tactics, such as Agent Kryik taking out an entire platoon of Separatists with a singular shotgun blast by detonating the fuel cell of their armored personnel carrier as they came to reinforce their forces. By her count, Valentino believes that met with "dozens, if not over a hundred" Separatists within the compound. There were many times that she worked alongside Kryik, and others where they were separated due to tactics, firepower, and tactical repositioning. Valentino noted that Kryik was both fierce in combat, and several levels better than she. She was quoted to having said, "If that's the kind of fighter you're interested in, I'm not sure how the hell I was even noticed. I'm nowhere near that level." Valentino reports having found the kidnapped person in question inside the Compound after clearing it with Agent Kryik, and a scan indicated that likely they were executed before the mission even started due to time of death. Kryik's Report Agent Kryik's report mostly agrees with Valentino's, except he knew and understood the mission. his part was to merely observe Valentino while Arterius went to rescue the Primarch's son. When asked why he personally joined Valentino throughout the entire action, he was reported in saying "I did the mission exactly as defined; I had eyes on her the entire time. At close proximity." Despite Valentino's sub-par abilities, Kryik praised her ability to adapt and overcome each situations and scenario they faced, exploiting several weaknesses and opportunities that presented themselves, and her resolve. Kryik report reflects, "Humanity has a certain degree of flexibility and adaptability that is a potent weapon in of itself. Valentino showed herself to be exceptional in hit-and-run tactics, utilizing environmental dangers to her advantage, and... taunts. She has a verbose vulgar vocabulary that she used to goad individuals out of their defensive positions to address or attack, and would put them down. Impressive, really." Kryik noted three things of her performance that stood out in his mind; using Turian strengths in tactics and turning it into a weakness, fluid mobility of a battlefield by refusing to be pinned down or taking a defensive location for longer than a few moments, and exploiting several environmental hazards to her advantage by detonating vehicle fuel cells, hydrogen slush containers, and fusion batteries to make up for her equipment deficiencies. Kryik agreed with Valentino's assessment that the Primarch's son was dead before they ever arrived on planet. In addition, he gave the human being his approval for further training as a SPECTRE Candidate, noting that if she had been better equipped and better informed, she would have likely been even more successful and met with real approval. The Miracle of Therum Category:Characters Category:Humans Category:Systems Alliance Navy Category:Peacemaker Series